I met a great little donkey called Sigitu today and I couldn’t stop giving him cuddles! He’s a 17-year old skewbald gelding who lives near our main Sanctuary in Sidmouth.

I was in his barn trying to take photographs of the donkeys in their cosy home for the winter but he had other plans for me! Whilst the other donkeys were only interested in me for a few seconds, Sigitu, on the other hand, took great pleasure in following me (even if I ventured to the other side of the barn) nudging me and inquisitively checking my hair, scarf, coat, trousers, boots - he was just fascinated.

I even tried to take his picture but as you can see, he was too busy marching straight towards me! Nikki, his groom said he just loves meeting people - she certainly wasn’t wrong!

So I wondered why he's with us and looked up his details. He was born in our care in 1991. His mother, Blondie, had been rescued in Ireland and arrived already in foal (we have a non-breeding policy) and he now helps look after her as she is partially sighted, well that is when he’s not following strangers like me around!